Reign of Logan
The Reign of Logan was the shortest of the monarchs of the New Kingdom of Albion, lasting only five years (from the time Logan was 20 until his dethroning at age 25). However, in that period, numerous events would occur that would eventually lead to the Albion Civil War. Age 20: Coronation and Revelation Upon his father, the Hero of Bowerstone's death at the age of 73, Logan, being the King's eldest son, was crowned Monarch of the Kingdom of Albion at age 20. The first year of King Logan's rule was a continuation of the Hero of Bowerstone's reign. Prosperity abounded, industry, trade, and agriculture flourished, and Albion's Golden Age seemed destined to last another 50 years. During this time, Logan, never comfortable in Bowerstone Castle, explored the Kingdom, visiting cities around Albion and heading on expeditions to faraway lands. Because of his constant traveling, his younger brother, who would go on to be known as the Hero of Brightwall, stayed under the supervision of the previous King's longtime companion, Sir Walter Beck. Under his tutelage, the teen, who was 13 when Logan was coronated, would become a skilled fighter, which would serve him well in the years to come. Towards the end of the first year of his reign, Logan gathered a large Royal Army force to explore Aurora, a desert nation to the south of Albion. The Kingdom was known to trade with Aurora, and Logan had decided to meet the leader of their people and map the area in the process. However, once they landed on Aurora shores, they soon became lost, and found themselves wandering within the ancient Auroran temple of Shadelight. It was there that Logan first came to experience the full wrath of the Crawler. The Crawler was the Corrupter's, an agent from a nether region known only as The Void, chief lieutenant, and first came to the world through the rift caused by the Spire's destruction during the Old Kingdom. Hoping to save Albion for the time being, the Old Kingdom's greatest Heroes, Sol, Stone, and Blaze, imprisoned the Crawler within Shadelight. However, while in there, the Crawler's power grew, and by the time Logan reached him, it was so vast that while being the great fighter that he was, even Logan could not best him. While in Shadelight, every member of the expedition was slain save for Logan, who nearly perished himself. He was saved by the leader of the Aurorans, Kalin, who made Logan promise that in return for saving his life Albion would aid and protect the City of Aurora, the lone remaining settlement on the continent, from further incursions by the Darkness. On his first night back in Bowerstone, while sleep in his bed, Logan received a vision that would change his decision making, policies and overall perception of his rule by the people. Theresa, the blind seeress who helped his father achieve power decades before, visited Logan. In the vision, Theresa explained that in five years, the Crawler and the Darkness that nearly took his life in Aurora would visit Albion, and lay waste to the land unless Logan could prevent it. Logan, not wanting the people of Albion to suffer this horrific fate, decided that he would save his Kingdom by any means necessary. Age 21-22: Changes in Policy By the second year of King Logan's reign, the people of Albion could tell something had changed about their monarch. He was grave, cautious, and began to make decisions that upset the people. For example, when he was 21, Logan imposed a drinking limit on all citizens of the Kingdom, and followed it up by reducing the Royal Guard budget and raising taxes. This caused crime to start to develop, albeit slowly, in Albion's larger cities, namely Bowerstone's Industrial district. Believing these developments to be temporary, the people continued with their daily lives, not worried in the slightest. However, by the time Logan was 22, things started to take a downward turn. Due to the reduced guard budget and an increase in crime, Logan was forced to withdraw troops from certain areas. Royal soldiers were pulled from Mourningwood, Silverpines, and Mistpeak Valley, causing the wilderness to retake these regions and the roads to become increasingly perilous to travel. Hollow Men began to rise in the swamps of Mourningwood, and began harassing the local villagers, to the point where a Royal Army detachment, led by Major Swift, was stationed in the Mourningwood Fort by the end of Logan's third year. Yet with even all these major events, the Albionites still believed in the old Hero King's first-born. Because of this belief, it is no surprise the people were shocked by the occurrences in the following years. Age 23-24: Radical Institutions In the next two years, Logan would institute a series of radical policies and changes that would sow many seeds of discontent among the common people of Albion. The first major decision was the imprisonment of Ernest Faraday, founder of Faraday Industries. Faraday had been a major ally to the Hero of Bowerstone and was seen as a beloved inventor by the people of Albion. Hoping to use this to his advantage, Logan visited Clockwork Island when he was 23, striking up a meeting with the elderly professor. Logan issued an ultimatum to Faraday: produce an army of Mark II Colins for the Royal Army. Professor Faraday, not wanting his inventions to be used for violence, politely refused the ultimatum. In response, Logan had Faraday imprisoned in Ravenscar Keep, the maximum-security prison built by the company he founded, labeling him a "traitor to the Crown." Logan then handed control of Faraday's assets and company to Reaver, an old ally of the previous monarch, who quickly named the company for himself and absconded Faraday's name from all Kingdom records. Under Reaver's control, Albion took a turn for the worst. With now wealth and power beyond imagination, Reaver was able to manipulate Logan into supporting his interests. The ex-pirate proceeded to raise working hours in Bowerstone Industrial from 8 hours a day to 18, cut 100% of employee wages, and introduce child labor to the district. Industrial soon became Bowerstone's poorest neighborhood, and ruffians, gangsters, and thugs roamed the district's underbelly, due to the absence of a guard force. The Bowerstone Shelter and Orphanage soon fell into disrepair, as did many of the buildings in the area. Reaver also began to divert the area's waste into nearby Mourningwood, although at a low rate. Perhaps most notably, Reaver took the funds from his new company and built a giant estate on the shores of Millfields' Bower Lake, from which he would rule his financial empire. With the money being made from Reaver Industries, Logan founded the Elite Guard at the age of 23. The Elite Guard, or Elite Soldiers as they were known among the people, were high-ranking members of the Royal Army. Wearing steel plate armor and royal purple undershirts, they swore to guard Logan and defend him to their very last breath. Logan commissioned a special detachment of his Elite Guard to guard Ravenscar Keep, due to Albion's most dangerous criminals being housed there. Fed up with the treatment of the people, Solomon Turner, a General in the Royal Army and a good friend of both Major Swift and Sir Walter Beck, decided to lead a rebellion against the King. Thanks to his Elite Soldiers, the revolt was quickly crushed, with all the rebels being killed and Turner being imprisoned in Ravenscar Keep. After this, Logan slashed funding for the Royal Army even further, instead paying the Elite Guard more and more to protect him. By this point, the people were outraged. The monarch, however, ignored these outcries, and proceeded with his harsh decision making. At the age of 24, Logan closed Brightwall Academy, Albion's lone university founded by the Hero of Bowerstone, indefinitely, in order to save money for the Kingdom's protection. Logan also outlawed all religion, and had Elite Soldiers burn down a Temple of Light in Albion's wilderness. During this time, a Captain in the Royal Army known as Saker became fed up with Logan and his policies and deserted, taking a number of soldiers with him in the process. Saker and his followers built a fortification within the mountains of Mistpeak Valley, which eventually expanded into a small town, and began periodically attacking the Mistpeak Dweller tribe, led by Sabine. As if the Dwellers' plight wasn't bad enough, Logan took complete control of Mistpeak Valley's forests and started harvesting timber in order to fuel industry. The Mistpeak Monorail, built by Ernest Faraday, began to see increased activity during this time. By the end of the fourth year of his reign, Logan had angered the people of Albion to the point where open revolution was being discussed by different factions within the Kingdom, including the Bowerstone Resistance led by Page and the Mistpeak Dwellers led by Sabine. However, the King never suspected that it would be his own brother that would lead Albion's people in a time of internal crisis. Age 25: Revolution and Dethronement In the fifth year of Logan's reign, the King would go to war with his younger brother, the Hero of Brightwall. After executing the Prince's childhood girlfriend, Elise, the teenager, who was now 18, fled the Castle with Sir Walter Beck and the royal butler, Jasper. The trio established their headquarters in the Hero of Bowerstone's old Sanctuary, after discovering the Prince to be a Hero like his father. The Hero would go on to ally with the Mistpeak Dwellers, the people of Brightwall, the mercenaries of Mistpeak Valley, the Bowerstone Resistance, Royal Army, and even the people of Aurora. Many major battles would take place during the Albion Civil War, most notably the final battle of the revolution, christened the Battle for Albion, in which the Hero of Brightwall's revolutionary forces besieged and invaded Bowerstone via the Old Quarter. Many sections of Bowerstone, including a part of a factory in Industrial and nearly the entire Old Quarter, was destroyed in the battles in and around Bowerstone. Eventually, with the help of the leaders of the rebellion, Walter Beck and the Hero stormed Bowerstone Castle, where Logan would peacefully surrender to stand trial for his "crimes against the people of Albion." At his trial in the Castle's Throne Room, Logan explained his reasoning for his actions while ruling, stating that the Darkness is a threat inconceivable by the people of Albion. Despite the people wanting his death, the Hero of Brightwall decided to spare Logan, who relinquished complete control of the Kingdom, including his Elite Soldiers, to his younger brother. Post-Reign: Battle with the Crawler and Aftermath Logan survives the final battle with the Crawler, as he is present for the inducting of Sir Walter Beck's statue in the Castle Gardens. He states that he is impressed with his younger sibling, saying that he accomplished a feat the former monarch thought impossible. Seven years later, at the age of 34, Logan is still present, residing in the Castle with his younger brother and new bride, the Auroran Laylah. This shows his unwavering support for his brother and the Kingdom as a whole. Legacy Although his reign was relatively short and tarnished by poor decisions and revolution, Logan must not be seen as a tyrannical ruler. While the choices Logan made as monarch ultimately hurt the people of Albion, they were for the greater good, as Logan states during his trial that only did what he felt he had to do to protect the people of Albion. For example, it can be argued that Logan increased funding for his Elite Guard while simultaneously cutting spending on the Royal Army in order actually save money and lower the possible body count when the Crawler inevitably invaded Albion. Many of Logan's choices can be seen as necessary evils. However, to the common outsider, such as a typical Albionite peasant, the former King's policies can be viewed as malevolent and without reason, inciting cause for a rebellion. Despite common belief, it is revealed that Logan genuinely cares for Albion's citizens.